Ottawa Homes

Curb Appeal: Paint and plantings enhance St-Bruno home

Makeover focuses on new colours and more landscaping

Designer would change colours, add plantings and hide the garbage and extension cord.

Photograph by: Suzanne Rowe
, The Gazette

Situated on the South Shore of Montreal, St-Bruno is enriched by mature trees, a quaint city core and hiking trails on the mountain right up to a tiny romantic lake.

That's the setting for this Canadienne-style home submitted to Housewarming.

The owner was going to replace the old, painted roof. Looking at the stone walls, I had many options for the colouring. I decided on an inspired or imitation look of natural cedar shingles in a charcoal, multi-tone hue.

The siding of the three dormer windows and the surface of the house should be coated with acrylic, exterior-finish paint in a warm medium grey, with no undertones of pink, blue or green.

The garage door and its contour is too overpowering with its massive dark brown facing. To keep it from being the focal point and to balance the façade, the same warm grey would be a wiser alternative.

The fascias, soffits, horizontal gutters, all the windows and their contour, as well as the air conditioning units, ought to be refreshed with a couple of coats of paint in crisp matte white.

The existing columns and balusters would look sharp and clean against the stone surface if they were also painted or stained white in a discreet sheen finish.

To accommodate the made-to-measure 8-inch x 8-inch, post-to-post flower boxes, the height of the railing would be shortened by at least eight inches. These wooden, white containers ought to be secured and should rest centred on top of the lowered banisters.

Any white, slightly cascading annuals would have the effect of pouring onto the persistent Buxus hedge framing the bottom of the balcony. Some cut-off rails should be placed, as support, between the lower ramps and the porch floor to prevent the structure from sagging.

On the right side of the garage door, a generous square hole could be sawed into the asphalt. A charcoal-stained trellis decorated with red-blooming clematis would take the edge off the inert stones.

Every spring, drastic pruning will help the plant regenerate itself. The mortar cracks on the top left corner of the garage door should be repaired.

Let's play hide and seek with the recycling bin in the garage and the garbage pail stowed away behind the white metal fence.

A medium-size Schubert tree, a trio of deep burgundy ornamental grass, lovely purple-red Heucheras as well as an abundant red flowering Stella Ruby Hemerocallis along with the Ville de Lyon clematis will create nice colour interplay with the tint of the earthy burgundy front door.

The door, with a white plastic lattice sandwiched between two glasses, is incompatible with the burgundy colour. Instead of replacing the door, which could be expensive, the opening could be changed with a thermal, clear or sanded glass - but, please, no flowers or unusual patterns.

The shape of the pathway is fine, although it is imperative to keep the paving stones free from weeds at all times.

Bordering the outer edge of the entire path and going all the way to the street, a long and narrow L-shaped bed will be introduced. Inside this area, ethereal foliage and delicate lemon yellow blooms will perform until the first frost. A divider is always needed between lawn and the plantation.

The new angular shape has naturally formed a triangular space in which burgundy ornamental grasses will be planted. The flat rock garden, on the left, will be eliminated.

For a stronger visual impact, there will now be only one exhibition flower bed, concentrating the new botanical choices.

A golden evergreen, persistent green and variegated shrubs, purple red Heu-cheras, a golden remnant of the vertical Calamagrostis and a few recuperated rocks from the lot will permanently furnish the bed even in colder seasons.

When comfortable weather returns, Becky daisies, campanulas and Arenarias will complete the composition with snowy hues.

They will be echo the colour of the annuals in the boxes. Adding good compost to the earth and four inches of mulch over all exposed soil would be a plus. Of course, this project could be done in stages. I would start with the main bed, followed with the coreopsis pathway border and clematis, finishing with the Buxus hedge.

Most homes can use a little bit of help when it comes to warming up their curb appeal. If you would like some inexpensive ideas on how to improve the appearance of your home, send a clear photo of your house with your commentary to: Suzanne Rowe, designer, suro@bell.net

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Mortgage Calculator

Loan Amount

Amortization

Interest

Term (mths)

Payment of

The above is for illustrative purposes only. Canadian Rates are compounded semi-annuallyHelp?

Mortgage Calculator

Loan Amount

Amortization

Interest

Term (mths)

Payment of

The above is for illustrative purposes only. Canadian Rates are compounded semi-annuallyHelp?

Househunting Newsletter

Receive the latest in real estate news, decorating and renovating tips every two weeks in the househunting.ca newsletter.